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Resident Artists

Violin
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Leo Singer, Artistic Director

 

Leo Singer is an active American cellist, musician, teacher and scholar.  An experienced orchestral musician, Leo has played principal cello of the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra and others.  Leo has also won several competitions as a soloist and chamber musician in the New York City area.  

 

During his college years, Leo was the music director of the Low Strung cello ensemble, the largest all-cello rock and pop ensemble in the world.  This group has toured around the world and recently performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.  Also at University, Leo was granted the Richter Summer Research Fellowship as well as the highly coveted Bates International Research Fellowship, which he used to study original Brahms’ manuscripts in Vienna.  

 

Leo recently completed his Master’s degree and is currently pursuing his Doctorate in cello performance from the University of Michigan, studying with Prof. Richard Aaron.  Leo also serves as Artistic Director of “Ann Arbor Chamber Fest,” which is a series of summer chamber music concerts performed by a combination of DMA and professional musicians in the Ann Arbor area.  Before attending the U of M, Leo gained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, where he graduated with distinction in the Intensive Music Major.  Previous primary instructors have been Ole Akahoshi, Andre Emelianoff and Sibylle Johner.  Leo plays an award-winning cello made by Lawrence Wilke in 2012.

Christina Adams, Assistant Director

 

U.S. violinist Christina Adams appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician. She has collaborated with leading artists from around the country, including principal members of the New York Philharmonic. Festival appearances include the Brancaleoni International Music Festival, Killington Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Hot Springs Music Festival. Previously, she was the violinist of the USF President’s Trio (featured on WUSF radio).

Adams also has a passion for contemporary classical music. She has worked closely with composers Augusta Read Thomas, David Del Tredici, and Salvatore Sciarrino, and has premiered and recorded pieces for Taiwanese composer Chihchun Chi-Sun Lee.

 

One of Adams’s main areas of focus is making classical music relatable and accessible. She is currently a member of Chamber Music Michigan, an initiative that focuses on outreach concerts within the Ann Arbor community. She is also a dedicated teacher with a current private studio, and was previously on faculty at the Patel Conservatory and Nature Coast Strings. Adams holds degrees from the University of South Florida (Dr. Carolyn Stuart), Boston University (Bayla Keyes), and is currently a DMA candidate at the University of Michigan under the direction of Aaron Berofsky.

John Bian

 

Violinist John Bian, born in St. Paul, MN, is an active orchestral musician who has been studying with many notable concertmasters across the country. He is seen frequently in violin sections of major orchestras such as the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his large ensemble career, John is also a passionate chamber musician having studied with members of the Cleveland Quartet, Cavanni Quartet, Calidore Quartet, and Muir Quartet.

 

John earned his Bachelor’s degree at Boston University where he studied with Yuri Mazurkevich. At BU he was the grand prize winner of both the Solo Bach Competition in 2012 and the Concerto Competition in 2014. John went on to complete his Master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied with William Preucil, the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, and was also a member of the Intensive String Quartet program. He then finished his schooling at the University of Michigan studying under David Halen, concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Yoonshin Song, concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, receiving his Specialist Degree in 2018.

 

During the summers, John has attended the Aspen Music Festival, was the Concertmaster Fellow and TA at the Brevard Music Festival in 2016 where he studied with concertmasters William Preucil, Jonathan Carney, and David Coucheron, and toured China and Japan with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2017. Next year, John will be joining the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as a permanent tenure-track member of their violin section.

Sunmi Chang

 

As the laureate of both the 2007 International Markneukirchen and Sion-Valais International Violin Competitions, Sunmi Chang has performed widely to much acclaim throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2008, she was the soloist of the Yale Philharmonia's tour to Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai, performing the Beethoven Concerto. She studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England and at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin with Prof. Eberhard Feltz. An active chamber musician, Ms. Chang won first prize at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition and has collaborated with many renowned artists. She was invited to take part in the Rising Stars Series at Caramoor, Music@Menlo and Chamber Music Northwest. She completed her studies with Peter Oundjian and Ani Kavafian in 2009, earning the Artist Diploma and the Master of Music degree at Yale University, where she won the concerto competition in 2006.  She was a full-time tenured member of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra from 2009 to 2015. Currently, she is pursuing the DMA degree at the University of Michigan.

Tammy Chang

 

Violinist Tammy Chang made her first solo debut in 1998 at LeFrak Hall in Queens College, New York. Thereafter, she has performed in venues such as Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Weil Recital Hall, Tilles Center, and Suntory Hall, as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral member. In addition to performing, she has enjoyed participating in summer music festivals such as Pacific Music Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, and Aspen Music Festival and School as a fellow and mentor. Tammy Chang is also a prizewinner of several competitions, including the Long Island Philharmonic Competition, LISMA International Competition, Great Neck Competition, and the Korea Times Competition. Aside from performing, she has a passion for teaching and has given lectures and masterclasses in New York, as well as Shanghai and Beijing. Additionally, she appeared as soloist in a series of Educational Youth Concert Series with the Long Island Philharmonic. Born and raised in New York, Tammy Chang began her studies at the Juilliard Pre-College Division with Naoko Tanaka. In 2013 and 2015, she earned her Bachelor’s of Music and Master’s of Music degrees, respectively, from The Juilliard School, where was a recipient of the C.V. Starr scholarship and Irene Diamond Graduate scholarship. She is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts degree precandidate at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of David Halen and is a recipient of the Rackham Merit Fellowship. 

Arianna Dotto
 

Born in Chicago and raised in Italy, Arianna Dotto earned her diploma summa cum laude with special mention of the jury in 2009 at the Conservatory of Music in Milan. 

Following two years of Intensive String Quartet studies at the UDK Berlin with the Artemis Quartett, Arianna obtained her first Master of Music degree in violin at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne in 2013, where she was subsequently enrolled in the Master Spécialisée Soliste program. She continued her studies with Maestro Jaime Laredo at the Cleveland Institute of Music, before enrolling in the DMA program at U-M. 

She was awarded first prizes at the “Vittorio Veneto” competition, the "Luigi Nono", the "Guido Papini", the "Rosetum" international competitions, and was a laureate and prize winner of the "Bruno Zanella", "Kloster Schöntal Wettbewerb", "Concours international d’Avignon Ginette Neveu", “Vittorio Gui”, and "Città di Pinerolo” competitions. She received the Young Female Italian Musician of the Year Award by the Lions Club in 2008.

Arianna most recently won first prize at the 2017 LMM Young Artist Award for Strings, and took part in the 2017 ARD Competition (Munich), and in the 2017 Bartok World Competition, where she was a semifinalist. She performed with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zürich during the 2014-2015 season. She recorded the original solo violin soundtrack for the movie “I Cento Chiodi”, and has performed on RadioClassica and the Swiss radio RTS. She has performed as a soloist at Carnegie “Weill” Recital Hall (NY), Sala Verdi (Milan), Solti Hall (Budapest), amongst others. Interviews with her have appeared on the Wall Street International Magazine, La Repubblica, and Amadeus Magazine. 

Her interview for the WSI appears in the book “Milano è Donna”, a collection of interviews with the most accomplished women of Milanese origins.

Sungho Jung

 

Sungho Jung is from South Korea and began studying the violin at age
six. He performed with the Seoul Grand Symphony Orchestra at age 13
and the Rainbow Youth Orchestra at age 14. In addition, he received
first prize in Namyang City String Competition in 2000. He studied at
the Prague Conservatory, where he received a certificate of completion
and studied under Professor Jiří Fišer. He then served in the Korean
Headquarter Army Band for two years. Mr. Jung received his B.M. in
Violin Performance at UNCSA where he was frequently principle chair
in the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Professor
Kevin Lawrence (Chair of Strings at UNCSA) and received M.M in
Violin Performance at Boston University under Professor Bayla Keyes.
Currently, Sungho Jung is pursuing a Doctoral in Music in Violin
Performance at Michigan State University under Professor Dmitri
Berlinsky.

Christine Harada Li, violin & viola

 

Violinist Christine Harada Li is a versatile artist who is devoted to inspiring audiences through solo, chamber and orchestral music, and has performed across the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Israel. She frequently performs with the award winning Koinonia Trio, which has been playing together since 2015. In addition to performing, Christine takes leadership in various art organizations and serves as Artistic Director and founder of the Anchorage Chamber Music Festival, Co-Education Director at the Innsbrook Institute Summer Festival and Academy, and Vice President of the Anchorage Fine Arts Society. Christine graduated summa cum laude from University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance and completed her Master of Music degree at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover, Germany. Her principal teachers here were Yehonatan Berick, Elisabeth Kufferath, Anne Röhrig (baroque), and Arthur Greene (piano). Currently she is a Doctorate student studying with David Halen at the University of Michigan.

Heewon Uhm

 

Heewon Uhm, a Korean violinist, is actively having performances in Korea and the United States. After having successful debut with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in Seoul when she was at the age of 10, she won the several major competitions in Korea and invited to have solo recitals at the Kumho Art Center in Korea when she was 12. During the summers, Heewon appears in major music festivals in the world including Great Mountain Music Festival and Academy in Korea, Britten-Pears Young Artist Program in England, Heifetz Music Institute, Elgar Symposium, San Francisco Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and Tanglewood Music Center. She also participated in various master classes and worked with great artists including Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ralph Kirshbaum, Koichiro Harada, Kristoph Wegrzyn, and Tokyo String Quartet. After receiving Bachelor's of Music degree at Korea National University of Arts where she studied with violinist Nam Yun Kim, she moved to the United States and studied at Yale School of Music with Syoko Aki. Currently, she is a pre-candidate in University of Michigan where she studies with David Halen

Rita Wang, violin & viola

 

Rita has been an internationally active soloist and chamber musician. As a native of Taiwan, Rita made her U. S. solo debut at age 11 in Alice Tully Hall and has since performed in Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Czech Republic, China, Venezuela, Brazil, Taiwan, Canada, and throughout the U.S., including New York's Carnegie Hall. Her passion for chamber music has led her to work alongside members of the Juilliard Quartet, Brentano Quartet, Shanghai Quartet, Cleveland Quartet, and the Takacs Quartet. In addition to the traditional repertoire, Rita's performances range from historical informed performance to contemporary music. Rita recently received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan after obtaining her Master's and Bachelor's Degrees from the New England Conservatory. Her teachers include Miriam Fried, Kim Kashkashian, and Aaron Berofsky. 

Viola
Joachim Angster

 

Joachim Angster is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Viola Performance at the University of Michigan, under the tutelage of C. Coade. He has performed across France, Switzerland, Germany, and the U.S.A as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician. Joachim has studied in France (Strasbourg and Paris) and in the U.S (Cleveland), and holds a Master's degree from the Lausanne Haute Ecole de Musique in Switzerland. His main teachers have included P. Xuereb, T. Adamopoulos, and G. Karni. During his studies at the HEMU Lausanne, Joachim performed with the prestigious Tonhalle Orchestra of Zürich, where he worked with renowned conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Herbert Blomstedt, and Sir Neville Marriner. In April and June 2018, Joachim will participate in the final round of the 2018 Anton Rubinstein International Viola Competition and in the semi-final round of the 2018 Washington International Competition. In 2010, Joachim received the Pfimlin Prize from the city of Strasbourg; he was a laureate of the French National Viola Competition in 2009 and 2010. Passionate about chamber music, Joachim is a founding member of the Valere String Quartet, with which he performed extensively in concerts and festivals in Europe and the U.S.A, and recorded on multiple occasions for the Swiss national radio.

Lindzy Volk

 

Lindzy Volk (Crown Point, IN) frequently appears as a chamber and orchestral musician, and has recently performed with the Midland Symphony, Toledo Symphony, South Bend Symphony, and the Adrian Symphony. Besides her orchestral performing, she has performed with Rod Stewart on his Midwestern shows during the Summer 2015. She has previously performed throughout the United States and Europe at festivals such as the International Lyric Academy, Eastern Music Festival, Musical Summer in Málaga, Spain, and Center Stage Strings. Additionally, she has performed as a violist for Lincoln Center Stage, performing chamber music for passengers aboard Holland America cruise ships. Lindzy has performed in masterclasses for many prominent artists including Caroline Coade, Charles Pikler, and Dimitri Murrath. In addition to performing, Lindzy has a love for teaching and maintains a private studio in Ann Arbor. She recently graduated with a Master’s degree in Viola Performance and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, where she was frequently seen as principal of both the University Symphony and Philharmonic orchestras.

Cello
Nathaniel Pierce

 

Nathaniel Pierce, cellist and tenor, is a highly active chamber musician. He is a Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Anchorage Chamber Music festival, and Co-Education Director at the Innsbrook Institute. Pierce is a founding member of the Koinonia Piano Trio which has toured in Europe and in the States. They were Excel fellows at the University of Michigan. In 2013, he performed as a soloist at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He has also been a featured soloist with the Toledo, Dexter, Dearborn, Albany, Ann Arbor and Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphonies, as well as the University of Michigan and Indiana University symphonies. Pierce has taught classes at University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of Minnesota Duluth, and Western Illinois University. His students have gone on to study cello at Michigan State, Boston University, and Easter Michigan Universities.

Nathaniel appeared on stage as a member of the children’s choir of the Brandenburg State Theater in Germany, where his parents were engaged as operatic soloists. He started his cello studies with Guenther Grossman, and Anna Zinke at the Cottbus Conservatory in Germany, and has studied with Marianne Jakobovitz, Ulrike Schaeffer of the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz, Germany, and Erling Bloendal Bengtsson in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has studied voice with Alice and John Pierce, George Shirley, Andreas Poulimenos. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Cello Performance at the University of Michigan under the instruction of Richard Aaron, and completed his Master of Music degree with Brandon Vamos at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He is currently pursuing a DMA degree under the tutelage of Anthony Elliott, cellist, Martin Katz, collaborative pianist, and David Daniels, Professor of Voice, at the University of Michigan.

Piano
Hyejin Cho

 

Pianist Hyejin Cho is a versatile artist who has performed across the U.S.A., Germany, Italy, Austria, England and Korea. She is currently engaged in an all-Mozart Concerti project with Northern Illinois Chamber Orchestra. Cho is also developing a Schumann piano concert series in Freeport, Illinois, to support the community. She frequently performs with the award winning Koinonia Trio, which has been playing together since 2015. In addition to performing, she enthusiastic about teaching, serving as a faculty at Anchorage Chamber Music Festival. She also serves as a pianist at Innsbrook Institute.

Ji-Hyang Gwak

Born in Seoul, pianist Ji-Hyang Gwak began her piano studies at the age of five. She continued her studies at Sunhwa Arts Middle and High school. She graduated summa cum laude from Seoul National University and earned her Bachelor’s degree with Hie-Yon Choi. Ji-Hyang graduated from the Eastman School of Music where she earned her Master of Music degree under the tutelage of Natalya Antonova. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree in Piano Performance at the University of Michigan, studying with Christopher Harding.

 

Ji-Hyang has won prizes in various competitions such as Seattle International Piano Competition, the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition, 39th Joongang Music Concours, Korea-Germany Brahms Associations Concours, among others. She has made appearances both as a soloist and chamber musician in concerts and recitals all over the world including the recital at Mozart Hall in Seoul, the 2012 University of Cincinnati College of Music PRAGUE Summer Academy in the Czech Republic and the 2015 University of Florida International Piano Festival (UFIPF) in Gainesville, Florida as well. Ji-Hyang made her orchestral debut when she was 15 with the Bucheon Chamber Orchestra at Jancheon Art Hall. In 2014, Ji-Hyang was the winner of the Eastman School of Music Concerto Competition allowing her to perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Eastman Philharmonia in Kodak Hall, Rochester, NY.

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